Happy Halloween!

Nannie came for a visit and we had a lot of fun. 

This blue jay came into our back patio and stayed for a little visit.

I was afraid he was injured with how close he stayed, 

but eventually he flew away.

Besides Nannie, we got to visit with Aunt Wendy, Mike, Nana, Uncle Chris and Aunt Rene.

We had a pumpkin carving party!

Everyone got in on the fun.

Nana had fun helping out.

Addie was very serious.

Mike was concentrating too.

This is Garrett's punpkin, Nannie 'helped' him. 

On Saturday we had a party for Malachi.

The pumpkins came to the party too.

I love the vintage Happy Halloween sign from when I was a little girl.

Our whole happy family!

This boy brings so much laughter to our lives.

We were able to get a group shot of EVERYONE.  I am so thankful to be back in the US where we can get together with family. 

Mike brought his dog Ted.  This is the sweetest dog, we really enjoyed having him.

This picture makes me smile every time I see it.

Malachi loved all of his presents, including Woo-Woo aka Woof Woof, his new stuffed animal from Uncle Chris and Aunt Rene.

Mal loves giving hugs too, you just have to be ready to catch him.

During nap time we took a trip to my shop, The Whispering Willow and Co in Tomball.  Everyone had fun exploring my space and the rest of the store. 

Saturday evening brought Trick or Treating time! 

And then everyone was worn out, including Gus-Gus and Belle.

Back to School

All of the kids are back to school now!  Addison started 3rd grade and Bennett is in 1st.  They are both so excited about this school year.

After all of the bus stop drama in Norway and France I can not explain to you the magnitude of my gratefulness for this picture. At our new house in Texas we are able to wait for the bus in our own front yard.  In Norway I had to push the boys through the snow in their stroller to take Addie to her bus stop.  In France it was a 10 minute walk either up hill or crossing major roads.  To be able to wave good bye to my kids with my coffee in hand, and still in my pajamas is AMAZING.  

Malachi and Garrett are in the same program that Addie and Ben were in when they were this age.  These boys are ready to start school too.  

Look at these babies! This is Addie and Ben at their Christmas concert when Addie was 3 1/2 and Ben was 1 1/2 and it was just before Garrett was born. 

And with school come activities.  The kids are keeping us all busy.  Ben has really taken to his Tae Kwon Do classes and there is something for everyone around here.

A BUSY Summer

We left our home in France at the end of June.  Here is one last shot outside of our home in Suresnes.

The next adventure was a 10 1/2 hour flight to Houston.  Our kids did so well.  Having friends on the plane certainly helped.

This little guy was so sweet and only screamed a little.

On to our next adventure, a house in Houston!  We had hoped to find more of a farm, but I am so excited about our 'castle' as my mom's friends have taken to calling it. 

This pool has gotten a lot of use already this summer.

We haven't gotten to spend a lot of time at our house yet though, because my little sister got married this summer!  We have spent time in Florida for different showers and then the big event.  The kids love their Uncle Garrett.

At the wedding rehearsal, could this location be any more gorgeous?

My Dad and my beautiful sister.

Time for a quick family photo.

Planning an outdoor wedding is nerve wracking and I couldn't do it, but my sister held out.

One more of Malachi singing a song.  This kid loves a microphone. 

Here is my parent's house, my mom is by the front door.  Here is the wedding golf cart all decked out.

While in Florida we found a great deal on a truck, Jon is going to drive this for his work car, and then I am going to be able to use it for my new French vintage and antique business.

And then it was wedding time.  My Dad and the bride rode to the wedding in this golf cart.  We had the most amazing weather and the ceremony was beautiful.  The reception was fun! I can't wait to share more pictures when we get them back.

I hope you have had as much fun this summer as I have.  

Moving Along

Things have been pretty quiet on the blog and that is because we are moving.  As I write this I am sitting on the floor in the office while the movers crate up my marble pieces. The truck is being loaded tomorrow and we will be in Texas by the weekend.

It is incredibly busy and unsettling to move out of our house here in France, but we are excited for this next chapter for our family.

Here are a couple of pictures from Addie's end of here musical at school, it was a Dr. Seuss theme and was so fun.

We are looking forward to seeing many of our friends and family this summer, but we will definitely miss our home here in France.

Chateau de Chenonceau

The last time we were in the Loire Valley we had planned on visiting Chenonceau.  Unfortunately we got to the parking lot on our last day and we realized it was too cold and we were too tired so we left. We have heard so many great things about this chateau.  I also realized that we were at our last opportunity for an overnight visit here in France.  We have been on the go so much we weren't planning on any more trips, but I had to see if we could make just one more.  This was just a one night trip for us.  We got up Sunday morning and packed up the car.  Just over 2 hours later we were at Chenonceau.  We made our way through the grounds and we all agreed we were glad we came.  Here are some photos from our day.

The door to enter the castle.

In the entry room you can see how the color on the tiles has worn away over the years.

Details on a mantel in the chateau.

The view from one of the bedrooms. 

I love this gallery, the floors, the light fixtures.  It was all just amazing.

Sometimes I think the scale of these fireplaces is lost in photos.  That is Bennett standing next to the fireplace, he is almost 6.

A giant urn outside.

One of the courtyards.

The fresh flower arrangements in the chateau were just spectacular.

I love this one too.

This was a tiny little room, but every wall had a great arrangement on it.

I love how all of the flower arrangements were different.

This amazing arrangement was in the kitchen.

Outside Jon was with the kids while I finished drooling over the copper collection in the kitchen.  

Of course they found water to throw rocks into.

Then we moved on to the gardens.

More giant urns.

You can see just how big the gardens were with Malachi in the picture.

A family shot!  I love my remote for my camera.

I love that Garrett sat down and started digging in the sand.  

Bennett had a great big pose for me.

My big boys.

In the gardens I found this giant stack of pots.  What a beautiful way to store these little pots.

Our last stop were the donkeys.  They were looking for a snack, but they were willing to pose for a photo.

We also visited the maze, but I did not get any pictures there.  I would definitely recommend this chateau, especially if you are looking for a family friendly place.

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